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Pharrell Made Only $2,700 In Songwriter Royalties From 43 Million Plays Of ‘Happy’ On Pandora | Business Insider

Pharrell Made Only $2,700 In Songwriter Royalties From 43 Million Plays Of ‘Happy’ On Pandora | Business Insider

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This past year was great for singer Pharrell Williams. His song “Happy” secured him Grammy nominations for Best Music Video and Best Pop Solo Performance.

Despite Pharrell’s ubiquity, “Happy” made $2,700 in publisher and songwriter royalties from 43 million Pandora streams in the first quarter of 2014, according to an email from music publisher Sony/ATV CEO Marty Bandier obtained by Digital Music News.

In the letter, Bandier said a million streams of a song on Pandora yields roughly just $60 in royalties. “This is a totally unacceptable situation and one that cannot be allowed to continue,” Bandier wrote.


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